Castelmur Castle

Castelmur Castle is a castle in the village of Bondo in the municipality of Bregaglia of the Canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The fortifications at Castelmur may be, after the Three Castles of Bellinzona, the most important example of medieval valley fortifications in modern Switzerland.

The castle site has been occupied and fortified since at least the Roman era. The important trade road over the Septimer Pass runs through the Val Bregaglia. At Bondo the valley narrows leaving a narrow passage between the Maira river and a large rocky outcropping, making the castle site an ideal location for a customs station and fortification. The Romans built a guard station and village named "Murus" according to the 3rd century Itinerarium Antonini. The foundations of several buildings as well as one building's hypocaust and two small votive altars have been excavated from the Roman settlement.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire the Castelmur next appears in 842 as castellum ad Bergalliam. At that time it was owned by the Emperor and held by Constantius of Sargans. It included the porta bergalliae a customs and toll station located nearby. In 960 Emperor Otto I granted the castle and right to collect tolls to the Bishop of Chur to help secure this important alpine trade route. In 988 Emperor Otto III confirmed his grandfather's grant to the Bishop and specifically mentioned both the castle and the nearby Nossa Donna Church. The current tower was probably built around 1200.

Over the following centuries the Bishop of Chur and the town of Chiavenna quarreled over Castelmur and in 1121 or 1122 the town captured the castle. However, Pope Callixtus II intervened and forced Chiavenna to return the castle to Chur. In 1190 the Bishop granted the castle to Albertus de Castello Muro or Castelmur. His descendants ruled over the castle until 1264 when Albertus Popus Castelmur stole cattle from the nobles of Chiavenna and Piuro, led to an invasion and the castle being conquered in 1268. These nobles held the Castelmur for four years before returning it to the Castelmurs in 1272. Around 1340 the Bishop reclaimed the castle and then mortgaged it to the Planta family for 200 Marks.

Text adapted from “Castelmur Castle (Bondo)” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Castelmur Castle ranks #5,740 of 8,133 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #83 of the 201 mapped in Switzerland. Founded c. 1850, it is older than 8% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 607 atlas entries founded in the 19th century. 1 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Lugano, 59 km away. It is one of the 24 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of Graubünden. See how Switzerland compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗